LitHub and National Public Radio

I have the hardest working publicist in publishing. I received two more reviews over this holiday weekend, including one from critic Heller McAlprin out of WNYC.

An excerpt from McAlprin's review: "Shelby's writing is pithy and funny, and her band of eccentrics are scrappy loners who are best suited to the company of other loners.... In this unusual, entertaining first novel, Ashley Shelby combines science with literature to make a clever case for scientists' and artists' shared conviction that "the world could become known if only you looked hard enough."*

* I'd like to point out that this review is not without its thoughtful criticisms of certain aspects of the book.

LitHub highlighted South Pole Station as one of "16 Books You Should Read this July" and though I am way out of my league in terms of the other writers selected, you know I'll take this in a hot second:

"In this terrific debut, Ashley Shelby achieves not only that but also a grand sense of comedy. Her protagonist, Cooper Gosling, is a struggling painter, guilt-suffering daughter, and in the midst of finding her way after a family tragedy. When she’s offered the chance to join an artist colony at the South Pole, she figures an adventure is just what she needs to jump-start her life. What follows is a lovely, satirical, and emotionally complex novel about coming to terms with heartbreak and re-finding one’s self through art."